Hello everyone!
EDIT:
I originally made this thread to throw around ideas for the neck movement of this costume, but I realized that I really should have explained the entire costume and I should have added more details and clarity. I really appreciate everyone who has contributed so far! You've all been extrmemely helpful! :)
I've decided to make a Mega Charizard X cosplay as my next costume. I don't really have a deadline for this. I would like to wear it to Youmacon 2016, but I'm in no rush and I really want to get everything right. :)
This is my second LARGE suit. I've made a Panda cosplay (from Polar Bear Cafe) using very similar techniques that I'm going to use for Charizard. I've handled large and heavy costumes before, so I'm being very careful with my planning before I start.
These are some of the features I have planned:
- hollow/foam shell body
-- I plan on using high density upholstery foam to make a shell in the shape of the entire body. To combat any collapsing with the foam, I will probably attach vertical strips of EVA foam to the inside of the shell every few inches. This helped immensly with my Panda cosplay since his belly was so large. This will be hard to move around in. I will try to make sure te legs and knees bend well and that the fingers on the hands have movement, but I know that I won't be able to walk a ton in this and that's perfectly fine with me. I'd like to be able to be mostly stationary in the suit. I will also be adding at least 4 fans in the suit to help with air movement. I will be wearing an EZCooling vest to help keep cool. :) This will be a very hot suit!!
- tail
-- so far I'm planning on making the tail hollow foam like the rest of the body. I feel that this will make it much lighter in weight. I was originally going to twist multiple thick wires together to use as a spine, but someone suggested using a derlin rod and I like that idea. I was thinking about using 2 of them running along the middle of the tail (one for the left side and one for the right). I would then run a belt through the ends to attach to my hips.
-- I was also tossin around some ideas to make the tail slightly articulated at the tip or the base, but I wouldn't be able to use a derlin rod for that. I'm still thinking about this idea...
![]()
- flames
-- I'm pretty stuck on these. Charizard has 2 flames coming out of his mouth and the flame on his tail. The only thing I have planned so far is I have candle flickering blue LED lights to use. Other than that, I'm not sure how I'm going to make these yet.
- 'skin'
-- I will be 'furring' the suit with fleece. I want to use the Henson stitch to make the costume as seemless as possible.
- wings
-- I was planning on making the skeleton of the wings out of PVC pipe and the actual wing part out of L200 foam. This would make the wings very light. I'm going to attach them to shoulder straps that buckle in the front to distribute the weight if needed. Someone suggested using delrin rods instead of PVC pipe and I might try that! It might give the wings a nice bounce. I am also making the wings detachable where the shoulder straps will slide into the body through holes in the back.
- head/neck
-- I would like to place Charizard's head above mine to get a longer neck. I also want to get some kind of articulation in the neck and head. I'm not going for full movement, but being able to move the head up and down and some left to right would be awesome. Right now, I'm planning on building the head out of upholstery foam (mostly hollow for weight) with a moving jaw. I'm planning on wearing a helmet on my head and attaching Charizard's head to the helmet using wire (2 in the front and 3 in the back). This way, his head will always move with mine. The wires allow room for the jaw movement and allow the head to be hollow. I will then have a chin strap to open the jaw like a quadsuit head. I'm going to make the neck a hollow tube of upholstery foam so that it will flex when I move the head down. I was thinking about cutting out some wedges in the foam so that it will bend easier. Maybe in a basket or crisscross pattern so I can get up/down and left/right movement. Do you guys think this set up would work? I also will add some sort of structure to put the weight of the head onto my shoulders instead of neck if everything ends up being decently heavy.
Here's a video that I based the idea from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdjhRZOhdXU&sns=em
Check out the polar bear at the beginning. I understand that this is professional animatronics, but I think I can get a somewhat similar movement with my setup. :)
![]()
![]()
EDIT:
I originally made this thread to throw around ideas for the neck movement of this costume, but I realized that I really should have explained the entire costume and I should have added more details and clarity. I really appreciate everyone who has contributed so far! You've all been extrmemely helpful! :)
I've decided to make a Mega Charizard X cosplay as my next costume. I don't really have a deadline for this. I would like to wear it to Youmacon 2016, but I'm in no rush and I really want to get everything right. :)
This is my second LARGE suit. I've made a Panda cosplay (from Polar Bear Cafe) using very similar techniques that I'm going to use for Charizard. I've handled large and heavy costumes before, so I'm being very careful with my planning before I start.
These are some of the features I have planned:
- hollow/foam shell body
-- I plan on using high density upholstery foam to make a shell in the shape of the entire body. To combat any collapsing with the foam, I will probably attach vertical strips of EVA foam to the inside of the shell every few inches. This helped immensly with my Panda cosplay since his belly was so large. This will be hard to move around in. I will try to make sure te legs and knees bend well and that the fingers on the hands have movement, but I know that I won't be able to walk a ton in this and that's perfectly fine with me. I'd like to be able to be mostly stationary in the suit. I will also be adding at least 4 fans in the suit to help with air movement. I will be wearing an EZCooling vest to help keep cool. :) This will be a very hot suit!!
- tail
-- so far I'm planning on making the tail hollow foam like the rest of the body. I feel that this will make it much lighter in weight. I was originally going to twist multiple thick wires together to use as a spine, but someone suggested using a derlin rod and I like that idea. I was thinking about using 2 of them running along the middle of the tail (one for the left side and one for the right). I would then run a belt through the ends to attach to my hips.
-- I was also tossin around some ideas to make the tail slightly articulated at the tip or the base, but I wouldn't be able to use a derlin rod for that. I'm still thinking about this idea...
- flames
-- I'm pretty stuck on these. Charizard has 2 flames coming out of his mouth and the flame on his tail. The only thing I have planned so far is I have candle flickering blue LED lights to use. Other than that, I'm not sure how I'm going to make these yet.
- 'skin'
-- I will be 'furring' the suit with fleece. I want to use the Henson stitch to make the costume as seemless as possible.
- wings
-- I was planning on making the skeleton of the wings out of PVC pipe and the actual wing part out of L200 foam. This would make the wings very light. I'm going to attach them to shoulder straps that buckle in the front to distribute the weight if needed. Someone suggested using delrin rods instead of PVC pipe and I might try that! It might give the wings a nice bounce. I am also making the wings detachable where the shoulder straps will slide into the body through holes in the back.
- head/neck
-- I would like to place Charizard's head above mine to get a longer neck. I also want to get some kind of articulation in the neck and head. I'm not going for full movement, but being able to move the head up and down and some left to right would be awesome. Right now, I'm planning on building the head out of upholstery foam (mostly hollow for weight) with a moving jaw. I'm planning on wearing a helmet on my head and attaching Charizard's head to the helmet using wire (2 in the front and 3 in the back). This way, his head will always move with mine. The wires allow room for the jaw movement and allow the head to be hollow. I will then have a chin strap to open the jaw like a quadsuit head. I'm going to make the neck a hollow tube of upholstery foam so that it will flex when I move the head down. I was thinking about cutting out some wedges in the foam so that it will bend easier. Maybe in a basket or crisscross pattern so I can get up/down and left/right movement. Do you guys think this set up would work? I also will add some sort of structure to put the weight of the head onto my shoulders instead of neck if everything ends up being decently heavy.
Here's a video that I based the idea from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdjhRZOhdXU&sns=em
Check out the polar bear at the beginning. I understand that this is professional animatronics, but I think I can get a somewhat similar movement with my setup. :)
